1. Technical Field
The present invention is related generally to the isolation and identification of new viruses. More particularly, the present invention is related to a novel technique for expression of latent viruses and then isolation and identification of the same. Using this technique, a new virus related to HTLV 1 family of retroviruses has been isolated and characterized.
2. State of the Art
A problem in identifying the causative factor in certain diseases or pathological conditions, particularly when suspected of viral origin, is the detection of the virus itself as a concomitant of the disease. The virus may simply infect the cells and remain dormant. Detection of such latent viruses becomes difficult for the lack of enough viral population which can be monitored by the currently available techniques.